Roasted (The Cass Chronicles Book 1)

by Susannah Shannon

  "I can't believe you are here! I check your blog every day for new recipes. They are the best! You are as darling in person as you are on the Facebook."

  Killian filled the doorway. "Cass, this is my mom, Hazel Nelson."

  "It's so nice to meet you, Mrs. Nelson," Cass said and meant it. It was.

  "Don't you dare call me Mrs. Nelson; I'm making your chicken roasted with lemon and olives." Hazel said, as if those things had anything to do with each other.

  "It smells delicious." Cass couldn't remember it smelling so delectable and she'd tested the recipe a dozen times. There was a fine line between intensely lemony and jaw clenchingly bitter. "You didn't have to wait for me." Cass was both grateful and a little embarrassed by the attention.

  Introductions were made all around, the scrabble playing family was from New York, and there were two couples and another family with younger children. Cass knew she would never, ever remember their names. When a chubby short man with an unfortunate goatee bustled towards her, Killian was at her elbow offering her a huckleberry mojito. When someone complemented the chicken, Hazel was quick to give Cass all of the credit. "I always wondered why my marinated chicken wasn't that great, until I read Cass's blog post on marinated meat."

  No one else seemed to view this as earth shattering news, but Cass was delighted. "I'm convinced that if you add the oil with the other ingredients the oil coasts the meat and there's no way your seasonings can reach the meat."

  "You see, she's beautiful AND a genius," Hazel opined.

  Cass wondered exactly how many huckleberry mojitos Hazel had enjoyed.

  The little goateed man took her hand. "I'm Travis O'Neill. I'm the mayor of Slick Trench; we're thrilled you are here."

  Hazel chuckled. "Travis would sell his own aunt to draw attention to our little town.

  "His aunt?" Cass was befuddled, she'd heard of people being willing to sell their own Mothers, but aunts?

  Killian leaned close. "He's my cousin."

  Dinner unfolded quickly, tables were set some inside, some on the porch. Along with the chicken there were potatoes roasted with cumin and pink grapefruit and avocado salad. The conversation was witty and the food was scrumptious. Killian didn't seem interested in chatting with Travis, despite the older man's numerous attempts. Her tablemates were all delighted with the fishing they had done that day. Apparently, mornings were spent fishing, salmon was on the lunch menu and then most of the guests went to watch orcas, whales or bears in the afternoon. Even the kids dug into their meal with no whining for chicken nuggets. Fishing must make them hungry, Cass thought. Hmmm, a blog post was lurking in there somewhere, she thought.

  People jumped up to clear plates and someone made coffee. The conviviality was tangible. Cass was trying to imagine how she would describe this in a blog without sounding treacly. She was saved from this train of thought by Travis cornering her. "So are you going to write about Slick Trench on your blog?"

  "I wasn't going to name the town, but I am doing a serious of posts about local food."

  "Well, we could get a lot of tourists from cruise ships when they stop. If the town had a bit more press we could get more. As it is, many people don't even get off the ship here. It would be a big boon to the town if you could mention us."

  "I am sure I can say something." Assuming I ever get to post on my own blog again, she thought.

  "We have a lot of spectacular wildlife, some of it quite dangerous." He was certainly persistent.

  "You must be exhausted." Killian was at her elbow, and he was right. She was.

  "This has been lovely, but I need to get to bed." She stood to make her goodbyes and realized that Killian was right on her heels. "You don't have to walk me to my cabin."

  Hazel's laughing voice cut through the kind good nights proffered from the other guests. "Oh yes he does! He may have been raised in the backwoods, but it wasn't in a barn!"

  Killian grinned. "See, it's really not up to me."

  Chapter 5 - Come On Baby Light My Fire

  The path was barely broad enough for two abreast and she was very conscious of the heat source that was Killian Nelson at her side. "So how did you become my Mother's favorite internet personality?"

  "Is that what I am?" She laughed. "Just lucky I guess. I went to culinary school and then I worked at two totally different restaurants, one was a vegan café' and the other specialized in game."

  He interrupted her, "So do you have a multiple personality in real life, or just in the kitchen?"

  It was easy to laugh with him, which she knew was never a good sign. He would either decide she was "best friend" material or he would dump her for someone thinner. Or both, that was always a possibility. Right. Focus on the blog. She was here for the berries.

  She tried to keep her mind on their conversation, not on those muscly forearms. "It was more a matter of being able to make rent in Chicago. The game restaurant was the "Boar's Flank" and it had a cookbook shop in the restaurant. A regular there wanted to add recipes to his fitness blog and one thing led to another." Which was beyond true. One thing had led to "Cass Cooks" being significantly more popular than Stephen's fitness blog, so they'd agree she'd focus on that, while he helped a bit with the technical things. The next thing had been her moving in with him becoming engaged, and then set adrift. Love sucked.

  Killian paused to offer her his arm as he headed up the steps to her cabin, but she brushed by him. "Thank you, you didn't have to do this, I'll see you in the morning." She instantly regretted her brusque, or was it bitchy tone. "I'm sorry. I'm just so tired." She tried to recoup.

  Killian had opened the door and gestured her in. "Do you want me to light a fire in your stove for you? It will get chilly tonight."

  She knew that ideally, she would tell him no, and he would take his rangy torso and endearing grin out of the cabin immediately. But she had no idea how to light a wood stove. Damn city living had caused her to be without gumption and moral fiber. She would take a wilderness survival course as soon as she got back to the city, with an instructor who was paunchy and had a comb over and a wife, make that two wives, and thirty-seven pet turtles. Yes, that was a plan. It took him about thirty seconds to light the stove.

  "How did you do that so fast?"

  "It's an old, old tribal secret." Damn that grin. She was breathless.

  "Really?"

  "Yup—matches. Sorry about Travis, he means well."

  "Oh please, I am from Chicago, he's a lamb chop."

  "Well, I wouldn't go that far. He is determined to get Slick Trench some press."

  "Seriously, he needs to change the name—or maybe host those porno awards here."

  Killian threw his head back and laughed with abandon. "Somehow I don't see that being okay with Bea and Hazel."

  "Is there a reason you call her by her first name?"

  "Yeah, when I was a little tyke someone asked me her name and I said 'well, her actual name is Mommy but daddy calls her Hazel' so it just kind of stuck I guess."

  She had fallen down the rabbit hole into a place where a strong, capable guy adored his mother. Be still her heart… She laughed in spite of herself. "So what's the deal?" She waved her hand towards the windows. "Alaskan building liquidators had an irresistible offer on shutters?"

  "Something like that." He walked over to one and latched the shutter closed. Suddenly the room was much darker. "The outside ones are really just for looks, Mom wanted them. These are useful." He closed another one. "Also if a bear got through the electric fence, these would at least slow them down."

  He saw her face and retracted immediately. "Joking, you are perfectly safe. I swear. We haven't lost a guest yet." Well, the sudden terror had at least put the damper on her out of control libido. He pointed to an intercom in the wall. "That reaches the main house. I can be here in thirty seconds."

  "I'm fine, I appreciate it though." She was making the usual pleasantries when he paused in front of her, leaned down and kissed her cheek soft as a butterfly
's wings. She might stand a better chance fighting off grizzlies.

  Glancing at her phone, she saw that Stephen had sent another large volume of emails. Ignoring them, she composed a blog post.

  Sharing is magic!

  I had the experience this evening of eating a meal prepared by a wonderful cook using recipes I have developed over the years. I don't think a mother at med school graduation could feel prouder. I think my hostess actually did a better job with the lemon chicken than I did. That's the thing about cooking; everyone who does it brings their own qualities to the dish. Visit the archives for the recipes for Lemon Chicken, Avocado, grapefruit and mache' salad and Roasted potatoes with Cumin.

  Let me know what you are doing to make your own life more delicious, Cass

  The most delicious thing Cass could think of was a bath in that large beckoning tub. She was delighted with the gush of hot water from the tap. There were fluffy towels and even some scented candles. Clearly at least some people sought romance into the Alaskan wilderness. She tossed her dirty clothes into the corner and padded back into the main room where Killian had left a box of matches by the wood stove.

  She lit the candles and lowered herself into the tub. She touched her cheek where Killian had left that feather light kiss. She lathered up the forget-me-not scented soap that had been on the tub rim. The words 'State flower of Alaska' were stamped unto its unmarred surface. Her mind was not on the lovely smelling lather. Killian was a hard one to get a handle on, his kiss had been so gentle and yet his rippling biceps left her with no illusions about how strong he was.

  She slid her hands down over her breasts, circling them with her wet soapy hands. She imagined they were his. She lay back all the way so that her hair was submerged and her hands continued their journey downward. As she slid her fingers between her legs she imagined Killian sitting on the couch in the sitting room and firmly saying, "Come here now.” She imagined him pulling her over his lap and giving her bottom a firm swat. "Why on earth did you ever let that moron run your life?" phantom Killian demanded. Being spanked had been her go to fantasy as far back as she could remember, and she let it unfold along its familiar pattern. Spanks rained down on her exposed bottom with blistering force, her tears availed nothing. She was powerless against the loving correction that she craved so much.

  "What happens when you do such stupid things?" her tormentor asked her.

  She attempted to block his powerful hand with her own and found her efforts rewarded by him firmly holding it in the small of her back, without even slowing down the assault on her poor blistered bottom. He insisted she answer him, there was no escape. "What happens when you deserve this?" he asked, his voice calm and even.

  "You spank me," she sobbed.

  "That’s absolutely right, young lady. Every. Single. Time."

  She came then as she always did, gasping for breath and very aware that what she longed for was impossible. Her orgasm had left her shaky. She lay in the tub as the water swirled down the drain. What she longed for was impossible, but she didn’t have to listen to anything else from Stephen. With wrinkly fingers she deleted the emails, and fell into bed almost instantly asleep.

  Chapter 6 - A Hike to Remember

  Hazel bustled her awake. It took Cass a minute to remember where she was, and why a Tasmanian devil in khaki capris was opening shutters and burning her corneas with white sunshine.

  "Sweetheart, you've been hacked! Someone stole all your work and there's a naked girl on the front cover of CassCooks!"

  "Front cover? Oh, the blog. That hasn't been fixed yet? My lawyer is working on it." She awkwardly tugged the covers up to her neck. Hazel had placed a tray on the bedside table. God only knew how much of Cass she'd had the misfortune to see sprawled out naked. Her hostess was nonplussed.

  "Oh, honey, don't cover up on my account. You barge into someone's room to wake them up then you need to accept that you might see things that are none of your business."

  It was an interesting philosophy, Cass thought, awkwardly hugging the blanket up over her breasts with her arms while she tried to help herself to some coffee. It was worth the effort, the coffee was good and strong and the smell was enticing. She added cream and sugar. She tore off a bite of muffin. "Delicious. Perfect crumb."

  Hazel was clearly delighted and responded somewhat cryptically, "Salmon berry"

  Cass made herself swallow the bite she had started. "Salmon and berry?" She was reminding herself to be open minded, weird as it might sound, that muffin was delicious. Hadn't she done a blog post on "Anchovies, get over yourself, they boost flavor"?

  "Salmonberry, they are sort of like a golden raspberry. I've got some bushes that are thirty years old."

  "So you guys have all sorts of unheard of berries up here."

  "They aren't unheard of to us." Which, Cass had to admit was a good point. "When you are ready, Killian will take you to the huckleberries." And, Hazel was out the door. Seriously, Cass thought, that woman probably leaves dust in her wake. It was too early to call Jen so she shimmied into jeans and hiking boots, pausing only for a slick of lip gloss and a pony tail. She hesitated on the steps of her cottage and deliberately deleted the texts from Stephen without reading them.

  She hadn't made it up to the porch of the big house when Killian came sauntering down the steps. "Morning, gorgeous. Ready to go?"

  Well, yes, she was. He'd already packed the jeep with some drinks, his camera and she was a bit taken aback to see, a gun. He noticed her looking at it.

  "It's not bear season. I don't intend to use it."

  "But you are bringing it?"

  He seemed bewildered by the question. "I'm not hunting them but that doesn't mean they aren't awake."

  "So it's okay for you to shoot one?" She wasn't sure why she was being so stubborn about this. She had cooked lots of game, but standing in this glorious wilderness she found the idea of killing its native inhabitants distasteful.

  "No, it wouldn't be okay. Unless I was an idiot and found myself right on top of one, I'd shoot in the air first and try to scare it away. If that didn't work, I'd have to kill it. It would be a pain in the ass. I'd have to prove the bear was a serious danger, and that it wasn't my fault the bear was a threat. It would be big trouble, and I don't want to. I know these trails really well; we will be fine."

  He parked the car in a wide spot in the road, apparently streets were more of a suggestion in Slick Trench. He handed her a can of bug spray.

  "Oh, I have some." she pulled her organic spray out of her backpack.

  The man's smile was both engaging and insulting. "Alrighty then." She was feeling a bit superior as she doused herself with her lavender and citronella propellant free, free trade insect repellent. Killian politely refused her offer and sprayed himself with some spray that smelled like cancer in a can.

  He tossed the can of spray into the jeep, thought better of it and slid it into his pocket. She carried a five-gallon bucket and her camera bag. He carried his gun.

  "Stay close to me and towards my left side. I will watch ahead of us, so I need you to stay right with me. The danger from a bear is when you startle it. Right now there are a lot of sows with cubs around." She was pretty sure that sow must mean mother bear. She didn't think he was warning her about forest dwelling porkers. "Normally you can shoot over a bear's shoulder and it will usually turn tail and run, but a mother bear will not do that. I'll make sure of where we are headed, you just have to stay right with me." She nodded agreement and they stepped into the green.

  There were no other words for it, the woods were magical. She had her first mosquito bite before she had gone three steps. She was struck by how aware Killian seemed, he was relaxed, but his eyes moved constantly and he seemed to register every tiny noise. She was making a lot of that noise, slapping the swarms of biting insects that seemed to find her organic spray delicious. He paused and handed her his bug spray. She gratefully sprayed herself. He gave her a wink. "We call skeeters the state bird of Alaska.
Just remember you must stay close behind me." She nodded agreement. Remaining close to that masculine back was no hardship; she fully intended to stay right next to him.

  She was close behind him, engrossed in the forest, when he took the left path. She hesitated and then veered to the right for just few steps, the right path was higher and she had a marvelous vista of the berry bushes. She wandered a few more steps, trying to get the perfect photo. Killian made a startled sound and she gestured to him that it was okay, she wasn't going far. It may have been her footstep, or the click of her camera. The bear noticed Cass before Cass noticed the bear and her cubs. Cass froze, she was overlooking the three bears and she was sure she was much closer than was safe.